The Social Solidarity Branch of the Portuguese Cooperative Sector comprises Cooperatives whose mission is to satisfy the social needs of their Cooperators, as well as to promote their integration and support, in particular by satisfying the needs of the most vulnerable groups of society. Thus, this branch has a very significant role in social cohesion and ensures an enormous contribution to the quality of life of the Portuguese population.
However, currently there is a lack of statistical studies oriented exclusively to this Branch, which, consequently, does not allow to accurately know its characteristics and its position in the Portuguese Cooperative Sector.
In this sense, this report aimed to analyze the state of the art of the statistical information available regarding the Cooperative Social Solidarity Branch and to carry out, for the first time, an analysis of the information resulting from CASES Accreditation Portal associated exclusively with the Social Solidarity Branch. This unprecedented survey of information is currently the most complete and current statistical tool for observing and understanding this Cooperative Branch.
